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Learn More About Alexander's Experience:

Arabic I am fully qualified to provide instruction in both Modern Standard Arabic and Egyptian Colloquial Arabic. My credentials for this come from my abroad experience in Cairo, Egypt, where, in conjunction with my intense Arabic studies at the American University in Cairo, I was employed as a Modern Standard Arabic tutor to a resident Fulbright Scholar. Additionally, I volunteered my time as an English as a Second Language Instructor to Sudanese Refugees, and provided my instruction mainly in Arabic. I have studied Arabic for the equivalent of 5 academic years, and have previous experience as a language instructor. chess Chess has got to be the greatest game ever. I have played it with enthusiasm since I was 6 years, and even played on the chess team in High School. I have read countless books on the subject, and would be able to provide instruction on basic opening strategies, fundamental tactics, endgame, and special tactics. I would also be able to review famous games and analyze them with the student. ESL/ESOL I have substantial experience as an ESL teacher. Most recently, I was a volunteer teaching English as a Second Language to Sudanese Refugees in Cairo, Egypt--this was through the STAR program at the American University in Cairo. Previously, I have been employed at Berlitz Language School in Cincinnati, OH, teaching ESL for two years. I have provided instruction to people of all ages, from 4 year old children up through middle-aged corporate executives. The native languages of my students varied from Spanish to Mandarin Chinese, so I have experience with people coming from all different types of cultures. grammar As a speaker of English and 4 other foreign languages, grammar is a very important part of what I do. Had it not been for my deep and fundamental knowledge of English grammatical concepts, I surely would not have been able to succeed in learning those other languages. My experience in teaching grammar mainly comes from my experience as an ESL teacher. With the upper-level students that I taught at Berlitz, grammatical analyses of English passages were commonplace--this further reinforced not only my understanding and mastery of English grammatical concepts, but also effective ways of teaching that information. I also, obviously, have used the English grammatical concepts that I know when learning other languages--this became especially important when learning Arabic (and a year of Ancient Greek that I had) where the language is deeply grammatically influenced. philosophy I am a student at Dickinson College in Carlisle, PA, and my degree is in Philosophy. I have studied everything from the ancient Greek and Islamic philosophers, up through 20th century contemporary analytic philosophy. I am currently working on an undergraduate honors thesis, which consists of a comparison between the metaphysical and logical systems of G.W. Leibniz and Ibn Sina. I have concentrated my philosophical studies in the following areas: Islamic Philosophy 17th and 18th century philosophy Ancient Greek philosophy Epistemology Hegelian Philosophy Existentialism Contemporary philosophy